Chapter 14: Deadline
“Ugh!”
“Basket!”
“Shut up!”
“What did I do?”
This time the rolled, crumbled ball of paper from my diary hit Nick’s head instead of the trash can.
“Ow! Domestic violence!” yelled Nick clutching his head dramatically.
“What the…! We’re not ma—”
“Kids! Keep it down or I’m throwing you both out of the house!” Eva stood in my doorway with her arms crossed over her chest, tapping one foot on the floor for dramatic impact.
And she did look dramatic with her blonde hair in thick curls and red knee length dress and heels along with her cherry red lipstick and golden clutch. Only her blue eyes stood out. Overall she looked like an overripe tomato.
“Is it me, or is the house filled with drama queens?” I asked the both of them.
Nick just smirked and lifted my left hand in the air as if announcing the winner, while Eva just huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
Giving them both a glare, I closed my diary, securing the page with a pen and turned to Eva.
“So... looks like Luke finally grew a pair.” I smirked at my sister.
“Oh, shut up! I’ll let you know, he already has a very nice pair.” Eva smirked back when Nick covered his ears and screamed “Ew!”
“Do tell sister blister!” I gushed excitedly, which made her jaw drop open in a big O.
“Seriously, Aki! Behave!” She scolded, just as soon as we heard a car honk on the driveway. “Oh! He’s here! Now, I’ll be out late, there’s some pasta in the freezer, heat it before you eat and—“
“Lock the doors and windows properly after I leave and don’t do anything other than study! We know, ‘mom’. We know!” Nick and I chimed together as Eva gave us a glare and went her merry way, slamming the door on our faces. Sometime later, we heard an excited squeal and then the car door slammed shut and drive away.
Since mom and dad left this afternoon, Eva won’t be returning home either. She’s been dating Luke Stone, a junior surgeon two years her senior, for almost five months now and for Eva’s standards that’s like five years. My sister didn’t have that many boyfriends and all her previous relationships ended within a month, so I really hoped this works out for her.
“Well, that was quick,” Nick noted.
“Thank God they didn’t start making babies in my driveway!” I shuddered. I’d overheard Eva taking on the phone about car sex once. She’d experimented on a parking lot somewhere. It’s a good thing she doesn’t know I overheard. What she didn’t know… wouldn’t harm me.
“But you’ve got to admit, she’s hot!” Nick said with a dreamy look in his face, his history homework long forgotten.
“Ew, Nick! She’s 26!” I said, disgusted.
“What does that have to do with her hotness?” He raised an eyebrow.
Men! I huffed.
“And what’s gotten you in such an unhealthy mood? You were fine before lunch. Did anything happen?” Nick asked.
Hail the King of Understatements. My mood swings had been worse than a pregnant woman today and it kept getting worse after break. First, I got the shock of my life when someone posted on the bulletin board that I was Miss OG, then I got pulled into an empty classroom and got kissed, then I was told that I matter to a certain someone without any further explanation. During lunch I saw that certain someone hug a pretty brunette like she meant the world to him, and finally, that certain someone was absent from his own class, most probably banging that cheeky brunette in the genitors closet. On top of everything, my deadline is tomorrow! So yeah, my mood had been a bit unhealthy today.
But to Nick, I said, “Just thinking about who could have put that paper there.”
“Yeah, me, too. But don’t worry, I’ll try and see if I can get anything.”
“Nick, you don’t have to,” I whined. I didn’t want him to get into any kind of trouble because of me. “I covered it up pretty well today. I don’t think anyone would believe it now.”
“Yeah, but the person who did this obviously has proof, because why would they announce it out like that?” Nick had a point, but somehow, deep down I knew it couldn’t be Ethan. He was right about what he said. Why would he give away his biggest bargaining chip? He did want in my pants, so why make me a moving target?
“Or, it could be one of the bimbos. I told you what happened in chemistry the other day right?” When I had unknowingly spoken my mind out in front of the whole class and gotten a heck of a table top ride. The day Dylan arrived. “It could be a prank to ‘get me out of the picture’,” I said doing air quoting.
“Yeah,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re probably right. Anyway, why aren’t you doing your homework? I thought you had math and physics.”
“I did,” I said, opening the page I’d been writing. “I had a free period today. Mr. Whitmore seemed to be on bang, bang vacation.”
Now why do I sound like a jealous girlfriend?
“Yeah. Alright then. I guess I should leave and let you continue with your... er...” He fidgeted to find a word for my novels.
“Romantic erotica?” I provided.
“That’s a genre? What’s the difference? It's all the same and—ow!” He rubbed his shin, where I just kicked him while gaping at his idiocy.
“Seriously! How can you even say that? Erotica basically means fucking anyone within a 10 meters radius! Romance means it has a storyline and the characters are faithful!” I explained to him, flailing my hands around me.
“O-kay... I’ll pretend I understood that.” Dodging another kick, he rose from his chair and began putting his books back inside his bag. “I need to head back now. Mom had a night-and-day shift, so I have to cook dinner. See you on Monday!”
“Okay. Bye. And don’t forget to—”
“Lock the door when I go out. I know!” Giving me a small hug, he was off, the front door clicking shut behind him a moment later. Everyone in our family had a key. Since Nick was my childhood friend, he had a spare, too.
Removing every other thought from my mind, I concentrated on my story once again.
I had a deadline to meet.
I didn't know how much time passed, but by now I had every other part of the chapter finished, except for the last scene, which happened to be the sex scene.
Sighing, I put my pen down and rubbed at my half-lidded eyes. And then I looked at the clock on my study desk.
“Holy shit!”
“I was wondering when you’d say that.”
“Ethan?”
“The one and only!” He smirked that annoyingly sexy smirk, lying on my bed like he owned it. His messy hair fell on his forehead, a sign that he’d been running his hands through them for a while. He was now changed into a plane white tee and faded blue jeans, while I wore a plus size pink t-shirt and sky blue shorts.
“Oh, you think you’re funny? I’m pretty sure the police would find it fucking hilarious that a teacher just sneaked into his student’s house, through the window at fucking 2 a.m.!” I snapped at him.
“Oh, I’ve been here a while and trust me, you won’t be complaining when they arrive.” If possible, his smirk widened.
“And why’s that?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Who knows,” he sat up from his sleeping position. “I might be tempted to demonstrate a scene from one of your erotica stories.”
“Romantic erotica!” I corrected.
“What’s the difference?” he asked with a shrug, making me gape at him.
“Seriously! Why does eve—! Never mind!” I put my diary away and got up, heading towards the door.
“Where are you going?” he asked, following me out of the room.
“To grab a late night snack. I skipped dinner and I have work.”
I walked downstairs and into the kitchen, bee-lining for the fridge to take out the pasta Eva had cooked. She had a habit of throwing temper tantrums when I didn’t finish her food.
“Work? Tomorrow’s Saturday. Why do your homework now wh—”
“I already did my homework. I have a deadline tomorrow.” I cut him off.
“Hmm...” He mused, taking a bite out of the apple he had picked up from the platter on the dining table. “So, how far did you get?”
“Almost done, only the climax remains. People think it’s so easy to write sex scenes, why not try writing them yourself and then complain how this scene didn’t have any feeling, how it needed to be longer, how it’s so lame, vulgar and whatnot!” I vented my frustration as the pasta heated.
“Hmm, especially since you’re a virgin,” the words were spoken in my ear.
A surprised gasp left me as I turned around, only to bump into Ethan’s chest. He placed his hands on either side of me, trapping me.
“W-what are y-you doing?" I gulped as I saw heat flicker in his leaf green eyes, turning them into emeralds.
“Well, Miss Sanders... I think it’s time for your third lesson.”